Multiple garment hanger

ABSTRACT

A multiple garment hanger having a plurality of hanger sections mounted on a member which is adapted to pivot outwardly and upwardly as garments are placed successively on the hanger sections. A hook is connected to the pivoted member for supporting the three sections on a hook or pole. The three sections and hook fold onto a substantially common plane. The hanger sections have laterally extending arms and preferably a horizontal member connecting the outer ends of the arms.

United States Patent Louis C. Marchman P.0. Box 26, Vandalia, Mich.49095 [211 App]. No. 888,500

[22] Filed Dec. 29, 1969 [45] Patented June 15, 1971 [72] lnventor [54]MULTIPLE GARMENT HANGER 7 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.C1 211/116, 223/85 51 mm. C! A47g 29/00 [50] FieldofSearch211/113, 116, 119; 223/85, 88

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,582,762 4/1926 Klock2,557,627 6/1951 Baril 211/113 2,701,082 2/1955 Cohen, 223/85 2,822,9672/1958 Spitz 211/113 X 3,085,724 4/1963 Wilde 223/85 3,370,715 2/1968Kolozsvari 211/116 Primary Examiner Nile C. Byers, .1r. Attorneys- Hobbsand Green and Kemon, Palmer and Estabrook ABSTRACT: A multiple garmenthanger having a plurality of hanger sections mounted on a member whichis adapted to pivot outwardly and upwardly as garments are placedsuccessively on the hanger sections. A hook is connected to the pivotedmember for supporting the three sections on a hook or pole. The threesections and hook fold onto a substantially common plane. The hangersections [have laterally extending arms and preferably a horizontalmember connecting the outer ends of the arms.

PATENTEDJUHISIBH 35861746 SHEET 2 OF 2 LOUIS 5. MARCHMAN BY ATTORNEYSMULTIPLE GARMENT HANGER In the cleaning industry and in storinggarments, the standard practice is to place a single garment on ahanger, and occasionally with respect to mens suits and other two-piecegarments, to place one of the pieces on the conventional horizontalcrossmember beneath the principal part of the garment. When a number ofgarments are handled at the same time, the usual practice requiresseparate handling of the garments or carrying a number of garments onseparate hangers which is often cumbersome and inconvenient andoccasionally results in dropping one or more of the garments. Further,when the garments on separate hangers are handled together, it is oftendifficult to place the hanger hooks over a closet or delivery van pole,again frequently resulting in dropping, and/or damaging some of thegarments. It is therefore, one of the principal objects of the presentinvention to provide a multiple garment hanger which permits thegarments to easily be placed on the garment support arms in anunwrinkled condition and the garments carried on the hanger by merelyholding and lifting one hook, and which collapses into a compactstructural unit when not in use either on or off the pole or othersupporting structure.

Another object of the invention is to provide a multiple garment hangerwhich retains the garments in a compact condition on the hanger withoutwrinkling them, and which permits a conventional garment bag to beeasily slipped over the garments after they are cleaned.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a garment hangerwhich will accommodate more than one garment, such as several coats,shirts or dresses, and which will automatically hold the garments firmlyon the hanger by the weight of the several garments tending to press thegarments together and thereby prevent them from being accidentallydislodged from the arms of the hanger.

A further object is to provide a foldable garment hanger of theaforesaid type constructed principally of wire which will fold ontosubstantially a single plane with the hook folded downwardly over thearm portion so that the unused hangers can be easily transported andstored in a compact space, and which can be readily unfolded into itsoperating position.

Another object is to provide a multiple garment hanger which is simplein construction and operation and economical to make and use, and whichcan be used satisfactorily either for holding a single or a number ofgarments or for holding a single coat, jacket or the like and aplurality of pants or other parts of the suit or garment on separatehorizontal crossmembers.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following description and accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the present multiple garment hangershowing the hanger in a partially folded position;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the present garment hanger;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the hanger, the sectionbeing taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 3 illustrating themanner in which the multiple garment hanger unfolds;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary cross-sectional and partialelevational view showing details of construction of the hanger, thesection being taken on line 5-5 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the manner in which thepresent multiple garment hanger is used; and

FIG. 7 is an elevational view, showing the hanger in its foldedcondition.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, numeral 10 indicatesgenerally the present garment hanger having three hanger sections 12,14, and 16 connected to a supporting body 18 which in turn is connectedto a hook 20. Hanger sections 12, 14, and 16 are formed of relativelystiff wire of the type normally used in coat hangers and the hook islikewise constructed of a similar material; however, since threegarments are relatively heavy, the hook may be constructed of heavier orstronger material than the normal hook for the single hanger. Each ofthe hanger sections consists of laterally extending arms 22 and 24connected by curved sections 26 and 28 to a horizontal garment supportmember 30. The inner ends of the arms are connected to pivoted bodyportion 40 which in turn is connected to the upper body portion 42. Theupper body portion 42 extends upwardly in front and downwardly in backto form an inverted generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration,and contains an opening 44 through which the lower end of hook 20extends, the hook being retained in the upper body portion by acrossmember 46 joined to the lower end of the hook and extendinglaterally in the upper body portion.

Hanger section 12 is supported on body 18 at hinge 50 consisting of twolaterally spaced eyes 52 and 54- at the upper end of body portion 40 anda cylindrical portion 56 at the lower end of the front part of upperbody portion 42. The hinge parts are retained in operative position bythe inner ends of arms 22 and 24 which extend inwardly through eyes 52and 54 into cylindrical portion 56 as illustrated in FIG. 5. With thisconstruction the hanger section is free to swing forwardly andbackwardly relative to body 13. Hanger section 14 is secured to pivotedbody portion 40 by a member 60 spot welded or otherwise secured to thepivoted body portion, the member having a channel 62 on the inner sidethereof for receiving the inner ends of arms 22'and 24 of section 14.Section 14 is thus free to swing forwardly and backwardly relative tobody 18. Section 16 is pivotally connected to body portion 40 by a loop64 formed integrally with body portion 40 at the lower end thereof asviewed in FIG. 5. The inner ends of arms 22 and 24 of hanger section 16extend inwardly into the loop and support the hanger section in a freelypivoting manner so that it can move forwardly and backwardly relative tobody 18.

The hook and upper body portion, which are pivoted on hinge 50, areadapted to pivot downwardly to provide a com pact hanger structure forshipping and storage, as illustrated in FIG. 7. The rear part of theupper body portion may be shorter than that shown in the drawings toreduce the size of the folded structure; however, the rear part maycontain advertising or instruction material, if desired. The presentmultiple hanger is normally shipped and stored in its collapsed orfolded position with the three hanger sections l2, l4, and 16 lyingagainst one another, and with the upper body portion and hook turneddownwardly with the hook lying adjacent the three sections.

When one or more garments are to be placed on the hanger, it is unfoldedto the position illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 and the garments are thenplaced on the hanger sections, preferably placing the first garment onsection 12, the second garment on section 14, and the third garment onsection 16. If the garments are of a two-piece design such as a manssuit, the pants may be folded over horizontal member 30 of therespective hanger section. As the garments are added progressively tothe hanger sections, the pivoted body portion 40 pivots outwardly from asubstantially vertical position to an angular position up to dependingupon the thickness of the garments on the various hangers, asillustrated in FIG. 6. After the garments have been placed on the hangersections, the hanger may be placed on a closet or service van pole, oron some other suitable supporting structure, in the same manner as asingle conventional hanger. This type of multiple hanger can beparticularly advantageous in dry cleaning and similar establishments, inthat the garments can be kept in their best condition while utilizingthe minimum amount of storage space. Further, the hanger and the garmentcan be easily carried by merely lifting the single hook 20, thuseliminating the possibility of one or more garments inadvertentlyslipping from a stack of garments as they are being carried or moved. Abag or other cover can be easily placed over the garments with the hookprotruding in the same: manner as the conventional single hanger, thusgiving maximum protection with the greatest degree of compactness of thegarment.

While only a three-section hanger has been illustrated in the drawings,multiple hangers with only two or with more than three sections may bemade, utilizing the concept of the present invention. Only oneembodiment of the present invention has been described in detail herein;however, changes and modifications may be made without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

1 claim:

1. A multiple garment hanger comprising a body having a portionpivotable from a substantially vertical position to a forward angularposition. A first hanger section having lateral arms pivoted to saidpivoted body portion. A second hanger section having lateral armspivoted to said pivoted body portion at a point thereon spaceddownwardly from the point at which said first hanger section is pivotedand on a plane substantially parallel with said first hangr section, anda hook connected to said body portion and extending generally verticallytherefrom.

2. A multiple garment hanger as defined in claim 1 in which a thirdhanger section having lateral arms is pivoted to said body portion at apoint thereon spaced downwardly from the point at which said secondhanger section is pivoted on a plane substantially parallel with saidfirst and second hanger sectrons.

3. A multiple garment hanger as defined in claim 1 in which said hangersections are constructed of wire and include a horizontally positionedmember connecting connecting the outer end of said arms.

4. A multiple garment hanger as defined in claim 2 in which said hangersections are constructed of wire and include a horizontally positionedmember connecting the outer end of said arms.

5. A multiple garment hanger as defined in claim 1 in which said bodyconsists of a platelike portion pivotally movable from a substantiallyvertical position to a forward angular position, and a platelike memberto which said hook is connected, thereby permitting said hook to folddownwardly adjacent to and on a plane substantially the same as saidfirst and second hanger sections.

6. A multiple garment hanger as defined in claim 3 in which said bodyconsists of a platelike portion pivotally movable from a substantiallyvertical position to a forward angular position, and a platelike memberto which said hook is connected, thereby permitting said hook to folddownwardly adjacent to and on a plane substantially the same as saidthree hanger sections.

7. A multiple garment hanger as defined in claim 5 in which said hangersections are constructed of wire and include a horizontally positionedmember connecting the outer end of said arms.

1. A multiple garment hanger comprising a body having a portionpivotable from a substantially vertical position to a forward angularposition. A first hanger section having lateral arms pivoted to saidpivoted body portion. A second hanger section having lateral armspivoted to said pivoted body portion at a point thereon spaceddownwardly from the point at which said first hanger section is pivotedand on a plane substantially parallel with said first hanger section,and a hook connected to said body portion and extending generallyvertically therefrom.
 2. A multiple garment hanger as defined in claim 1in which a third hanger section having lateral arms is pivoted to saidbody portion at a point thereon spaced downwardly from the point atwhich said second hanger section is pivoted on a plane substantiallyparallel with said first and second hanger sections.
 3. A multiplegarment hanger as defined in claim 1 in which said hanger sections areconstructed of wire and include a horizontally positioned memberconnecting connecting the outer end of said arms.
 4. A multiple garmenthanger as defined in claim 2 in which said hanger sections areconstructed of wire and include a horizontally positioned memberconnecting the outer end of said arms.
 5. A multiple garment hanger asdefined in claim 1 in which said body consists of a platelike portionpivotally movable from a substantially vertical position to a forwardangular position, and a platelike member to which said hook isconnected, thereby permitting said hook to fold downwardly adjacent toand on a plane substantially the same as said first and second hangersections.
 6. A multiple garment hanger as defined in claim 3 in whichsaid body consists of a platelike portion pivotally movable from asubstantially vertical position to a forward angular position, and aplatelike member to which said hook is connected, thereby permittingsaid hook to fold downwardly adjacent to and on a plane substantiallythe same as said three hanger sections.
 7. A multiple garment hanger asdefined in claim 5 in which said hanger sections are constructed of wireand include a horizontally positioned member connecting the outer end ofsaid arms.